Starting January 1st, the criminal interest rate on predatory lending will be lowered, meaning it should be safer to take out payday and installment loans. But these businesses have a tendency to skirt the law, adding unexpected fees and insurance rates to keep borrowers in the hole.

Sam welcomes Donna Borden to the show - an organizer with ACORN. She’s been a victim to these loans, and is now fighting against them. Will the crackdown work and really help lower people’s payments? How can we make short term loans a real option for people struggling, without the sky-high payments?

Host: Sam Konnert

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Guests: Donna Borden

Background reading:

• Debt struggles spark concerns - Toronto Star
• Anti-poverty advocates call payday lenders 'criminal,' urge feds to cap interest rates | CBC
• New rules to curb predatory lending still leave many vulnerable - Globe and Mail
• How a $200 payday loan cost over $31,000 - CBC Radio

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Yes, Canada bombed the Aurora Borealis.

But can you actually scatter that northernmost light with explosives? Why would you even try? And explosive boom aside, can you, on a cold clear quiet night, hear the northern lights? What is the sound of the Aurora Borealis?

Nicolas Lachapelle and Eloise Demers Pinard, trekked to Churchill Manitoba, and beyond, to try and answer these questions.

And that’s about as newsy and informational as things are gonna get.

Because as you will hear, today’s episode sounds a little bit different. It’s a bit more poetic than our regularly scheduled programming.

Or as our reporters will tell you, “…this is a story about that forgotten need to probe the sky and an epic journey through time and space on the edge of northern Canada.”

Happy Holidays.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits:

Produced, recorded and directed by Éloïse Demers Pinard and Nicolas Lachapelle.

In dialogue with the composer Welcome John.

Inspired by the visionary works of Tom Demers and Peter Mettler.

With the voices of Jeremy Allen, George Alexander St-Clair, Harry Tutuk, James Wells, Roland Sawatsky and Chris Campbell.

Narration by Jacqueline Van de Geer.

Field research by Alain James Rioux Dubé.

Archival research by Emma Brunet.

Sound design and mix by Antonin Wyss.

Linguistic revision by Maureen Roberge.

Graphic design by Max Rhéault and the Criterium Design bureau.

The archives are from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Library and Archives Canada.

Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer)

Additional audio assistance: Caleb Thompson

Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Sponsors:

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Que retenir de 2024? Beaucoup de sujets lourds, et quelques moments plus légers, affirme Manal Drissi au micro d’Emilie Nicolas. Ensemble, Manal et Emilie reviennent sur des événements marquants de l’année et dressent, en filigrane, un portrait critique de nos médias. Au menu de cet épisode du temps des fêtes, les liens entre transphobie et misogynie qui ont traversé les discours portés sur Imane Khelif, cette boxeuse médaillée d’or aux JO de Paris ; les viols de Mazan et la montée du masculinisme ; la controverse Haroun Bouazzi et le rôle que jouent les éditorialistes dans le traitement de l’actualité ; et enfin la manière dont les médias couvrent la situation à Gaza. En deuxième partie d’émission, Manal Drissi revient sur son retrait des médias depuis la pandémie et nous rappelle l’importance de prendre notre temps.

What to remember from 2024? Lots of heavy subjects and a few lighter moments, says Manal Drissi to Emilie Nicolas. Together, Manal and Emilie look back on some of the significant events of the year and provide, implicitly, a critical portrait of our media. On the menu for this holiday season episode, the links between transphobia and misogyny which ran through the story of Imane Khelif, the young boxer who won gold at the Paris Olympics; the Mazan rapes and the rise of masculinism; the Haroun Bouazzi controversy and the role that editorialists play in covering current events; and finally the way in which the media cover the situation in Gaza. In the second part of the show, Manal Drissi talks about her withdrawal from the media since the pandemic and reminds us of the importance of taking our time and slow living.

Animation : Emilie Nicolas

Générique : Lucie Laumonier (Production), Tristan Capacchione (Production technique), max collins (Coordination de production).

Coanimation : Manal Drissi

Pour en savoir plus et Extraits entendus à l’émission

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